"Blind Joe" Reynolds (1900 or 1904 – March 10, 1968), was an American singer-songwriter and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

guitarist. Reynolds is thought to have been born in

Tallulah, Louisiana Tallulah ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Madison Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,286, down from 7,335 in 2010. As this was historically a center of agriculture since th ...

in 1904, although his

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, a ...

states his birthplace as

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

in 1900. He was blinded by a shotgun blast to the face in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

in the mid-late 1920s, which resulted in the physical loss of his eyes. Despite this handicap, Blind Joe became known for his distinctive

bottleneck Bottleneck may refer to: * the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle Science and technology * Bottleneck (engineering), where the performance of an entire system is limited by a single component * Bottleneck (network), in a communication network * ...

style as well as his reported accuracy with a pistol, with which it is said he could judge the position of a target by sound alone. Reynolds is known to have been

polyamorous Polyamory () is the practice of, or the desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. Some people who identify as polyamorous believe in consensual non-mono ...

and somewhat

misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practis ...

, as is apparent from a number of his recordings. He was also known to be outspoken and flamboyant, often using his music as a medium to attack society.

Aliases

It is uncertain what name Reynolds was given at birth. Whilst it is widely thought to have been Joe Sheppard, his nephew Henry Millage claimed it was Joe Leonard. Throughout his career, Reynolds travelled the country performing under various aliases as a way of evading the police, as he had served at least two jail sentences in his early life, as well as "escaping isenemies".

Recording career

After years of travelling and performing on street corners, Reynolds was eventually discovered in 1929 by musical talent scout H. C. Speir and is known to have entered the studio at least twice, recording four songs on each occasion. In November 1929, Speir took Reynolds to a small studio in Grafton, Wisconsin where he recorded the songs "Cold Woman Blues", "Nehi Blues", "Ninety Nine Blues" and " Outside Woman Blues". These were recorded under the name 'Blind Joe Reynolds' and released as two 78rpm records by

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramoun ...

. In November 1930, Reynolds re-entered the studio, this time in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

, Tennessee. There he recorded the songs "Goose Hill Woman Blues", "Married Man Blues", "Short Dress Blues" and "Third Street Woman Blues" under the name 'Blind Willie Reynolds' for

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

. However, only two of these songs were released, on a single 78rpm record. The recordings of "Goose Hill Woman Blues" and "Short Dress Blues" are thought to be lost forever. The song "Outside Woman Blues" would later find fame when it was recorded by

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

for their 1967 album, ''

Disraeli Gears ''Disraeli Gears'' is the second studio album by the British rock band Cream. It was produced by Felix Pappalardi and released on Reaction Records. The album features the singles " Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love". The original 11-tr ...

''. The group became aware of the song after guitarist

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

heard it featured on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''Country Blues Encores'' (1965, Origin Jazz Library OJL-8). Curiously, on their version, Cream gave the writing credit to 'Arthur Reynolds'. Reynolds' "Ninety Nine Blues"/"Cold Woman Blues" 78rpm recording for Paramount was thought to be lost until 2000 when a copy, which had been purchased in 1976 at a

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

for one dollar, surfaced. It subsequently sold privately for an undisclosed amount. It remains the only known copy in existence.

Death

In March 1968, Reynolds was admitted to a hospital in

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

, Louisiana following a stroke, where he died on March 10. The cause of death was

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

References

Bibliography

External links

Illustrated Blind Joe Reynolds discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Blind Joe 1900s births 1968 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Singers from Louisiana Deaths from pneumonia in Louisiana Year of birth uncertain Paramount Records artists Victor Records artists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American singers People from Tallulah, Louisiana Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American male musicians American blind singers American blind guitarists Blind blues musicians